Truck Crashes Into Terminal at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport. No One Knows Why

The driver of a pickup truck crashed through a wall in the baggage claim area at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport at about 3 a.m. Thursday, according to airport officials.

Details of what caused the driver, who was hospitalized after the crash, to hit the wall at a “high rate of speed,” aren’t clear yet, said Rick Piccolo, airport president and CEO.

Piccolo said the driver drove through a fence line from Tamiami Trail, went onto the airport’s perimeter road, crossed the air carrier ramp and then “blasted a big hole,” through the cinder block wall, coming to rest against the counter of a rental car company.

Two rental car workers were in the area when the truck crashed through the wall, but neither were hurt, he said.

Airport officials estimate the damage to be between $250,000 and $1 million, depending on how much structural damage was done to the terminal.

The incident was not expected to cause any delays in flights.

The truck driver, identified by the Florida Highway Patrol as Juan Monsivis, 40, of Bradenton, was being treated for serious injuries at Sarasota Memorial Hospital.

Piccolo said he had been told the driver was in a medically induced coma. It was unclear if the driver had a medical episode or was under the influence, but terrorism was not suspected.

Prior to the crash, Monsivis’ vehicle, a 2015 GMC Sierra, was traveling north on US 41 in a reckless manner, the FHP report said.

Police officer had tried to stop reckless driver

A New College Police Department officer spotted the vehicle and attempted to over-take it, but lost sight of the vehicle, before it left the roadway and crashed through the chain link fence at the western boundary of the airport, the FHP report said.

The officer confirmed that Monsivis’ vehicle that crashed into the terminal was the same vehicle that was traveling north on US 41 in a reckless manner.

SRQ, one of the fastest growing airports in the United States, set a record for November with 182,607 passengers passing through the terminal. Traffic was up 52 percent in November over the same month in 2018. The newest airline, Sun Country started nonstop seasonal service from SRQ to Minneapolis – St. Paul on Thursday.

Baggage claim belt demolished

The story of the overnight truck crash at the terminal could have been far different had the timing been different. At the time, there were no passengers in the baggage claim area. One of the airport’s three baggage claim belts was demolished in the accident.

Thursday, crews were working to repair the baggage claim machine and board up or repair damage.

There are no plans for further hardening of airport facilities or changing security procedures, Piccolo said.

“It was such an unusual incident and the truck came through a concrete block wall,” Piccolo said.

Airport officials forecast that in 2020, as many as 2.7 million passengers could pass through the terminal at SRQ.

In November of 2018, a vehicle drove through two gates and hit a small plane in the general aviation portion of SRQ.

The driver in that incident was arrested and charged with drunk driving.

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